By Seamus Bozeman
This article will be updated as events unfold…
Image via Metro U.K.
The streets of Washington D.C. are crowded with Trump's supporters, as their maniacal dictator who feebly tried to overturn the election with a speech outside the White House while his followers with confederate flags, concealed weapons, and other symbols of white supremacy gathered. After Trump’s speech, his followers in an attempted coup breached the doors of Democracy, as the constitutional act of certifying an election was brought to a screeching halt by white domestic terrorists who overran the senate and house chambers, breaking windows, and chanting their anti-democratic lies. Instead of their calls of a stolen election, they are stealing democracy and shredding the constitution, and the trust anyone may have in the already weak and oppressive voter system. The electors, members of congress, and the house were ready to certify the vote but fled the building as brazen camouflage-clad paramilitary supporters of violence, entered and started to vandalize offices, steal photos, and valuables, and ransacked both the chambers of the senate and house. Egged on by police, who let the mob charge the capitol building, is in stark contrast to the protests over the summer, where black lives matter, and racial justice protesters faced horrible acts of police brutality and were forced off the streets for protesting. Our police forces defend and uphold white supremacist institutions.
These images of this coup, insurrection, and occupation of the Capitol have shaken the stability of the U.S. to its core, endangering democracy like never before. Many wonder if today is the day the U.S. will see the end of democracy, after one of the most tumultuous and anti-democratic four years in history.
This president failed to come to terms with his loss and peddles false claims of mass voter fraud, poor election integrity, and lies. These lies have forced those who follow Trump as if he is a cult leader, supporting the damaging of the principles of democracy with violence, hate, and racism, and a violent coup many saw coming. This coup is the fault of Trump and his allies as, despite the mountains of evidence that the election results were free and fair, he insists he won, allowing his supporters to live in a fantasy, and commit acts of terror to tear down one of the most important representations of democracy. The effects of these events will forever damage the pillars of democracy, hurting the future of an already dying nation, turning the U.S. into a procellous sea of chaos.
A perilous future awaits as the beast of domestic terror has awoken, eating away at democratic systems, deepening the divide, and attempting to turn the U.S. into a fascist state.
While the events of today may also break the Republican party away from Trump, and end widespread congressional support for his constitutionally destructive grip on power, the people who stormed the building are the opposite of patriotic and have lost sight of reality living in the bubble of Trumpism, and deep state conspiracies.
As reports continue to come in, some have said that there is going to be an impeachment trial, and an invocation of the 25th amendment, which would end the presidency of Donald Trump, and insert Mike Pence in his place.
Journalists also faced targeted attacks against them from both the police and white supremacists, while trying to document their invasion of the Capitol building.
Following the incidents, the Capitol has been secured, and the certification will continue, ending a constitutional crisis, and the presidency of a fascist dictator.
January, 6th, 2021 4:08 pm PST: Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been blocked for twelve hours for inciting violence and egging on the ongoing violence. (His account should have been blocked at the beginning of his reign in the oval office.)
January, 6th, 2021 9:30 pm PST: Republicans who objected to the results of the free and fair elections in two states, Arizona and Pennsylvania, are as follows: Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Neely Kennedy (R-LA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Rodger Marshall (R-KS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). The number of objecting Republicans was lower than when the certification were originally slated to take place, as over 14 senators were originally planning to reject the results. Some minds were likely swayed by the terrorism that had shaken the Capitol Building.
In the House of Representatives the vote 303-121 was an acceptance of the free and fair, elections, but those 121 who voted to object should be democratically removed at the next available opportunity. A comprehensive list of names will likely be available shortly, and will be provided later in the ongoing updates.
Following the events on Capitol hill everyone who was a part of the criminal acts against the U.S. should face criminal charges, including Donald Trump. Some county and state prosecutors have said those who return from Washington D.C. who participated in the terrorist attack against the Capitol today will be charged “to the fullest extent of the law”.
The emergency public orders declared earlier in the evening in Washington D.C., which included a curfew, are apparently not effecting the white supremacists on the streets as the police have failed to clear them. The deployment of the National Guard will remain in effect for the remainder of the Trump presidency, according to multiple sources, which is in 15 days.
January, 7th, 2021 11:30 am PST:
Here is the full list of Republican Senators, and House of Representatives who objected to the certification of the election: Courtesy of the New York Times.
Qanon accused Antifa of the attempted coup but the “Shaman of Qanon,” Jake Angeli, was a visible organizer of the event, through social media, and private Qanon forums. Matt Gaetz, a Congressman from Florida, added to the stupidity of Trump’s supporters by stating that “It was Antifa masquerading, and dressing up like Trump supporters,” in a speech in the early hours of January, 7th during the certification of Biden’s Democractic victory.
Pipe bombs at both the DNC, and RNC, and other weapons were found, but did not go off, another act of terror set up by the Proud Boys and other extremist groups, though no formal linkage has been made, as the FBI, and other intelligence agencies have stayed silent.
More Democrats and some Republicans continue to call for the invocation of the 25th amendment by Mike Pence, but if he fails to do so, when congress reconvenes, plan on formally going through immediate impeachment proceedings.
If Pence were to take office as President, it seems highly unlikely that he will pardon Trump, as he is trying to save his political career and distance himself from the Dictator in Chief.
So far only 69 people have been arrested, four have died, and 50 members of the Capitol police have been injured.
Facebook, and its sister company Instagram, has banned Trump’s account for the remainder of his term, which will end in 14 days or less depending on the 25th amendment and possible impeachment trial that is supposedly going to take place.
January, 7th, 2021 10:45 pm PST:
The death toll is now stands at 5 after a police officer succumbed to injuries sustained during the coup attempt.
As the world watched in horror, disbelief and outrage, democratic leaders from across the globe voiced their loss of faith in the United States as a representation of a free nation, bringing to a close an era of trust since the end of World War II. In France, Prime Minister Emanuel Macron compared the incidents on January 6th to the Reichstag fire of 1933, which collapsed the perilously fragile democracy of Germany, and entered the fascist rule of Hitler.
Multiple members of the White House staff have resigned in the wake of the violence, a move that should have happened sooner when Donald Trump failed to concede two months ago.
In a blow to the 25th amendment being invoked by Pence, Trump has partially conceded after months of damaging lies and rhetoric. A partial concession does not work, and like the slew of resignations, it should have happened when Biden won the election. Even though Trump has lightly conceded, his mental state of being is questionable at best and each day this imbecile remains in possession of the nuclear codes or any other presidential power is becoming more dangerous as the madness rages on.
Trump has also considered pardoning himself, which would allow him to run for office again in the future, but an impeachment indictment would end the threat of Trump ever being able to step near a position of power.
The chief of the capitol police is resigning following the lack of response to the coup attempt. The police made their blatant encouragement and support of white domestic terrorist crystal clean by allowing them to threaten the certification of the election, taking selfies with them, and allowing federal criminals to escape without repercussions.
The events on January, 6th 2021 were tragic, blotched with the blood of anti-constitutionalists, terrorists, and the enabler of a coup from within. A tweet from Trump from a few weeks ago asked supporters to join him for a “big protest” and told them it would be “wild!,” which the Proud Boys and other white nationalist groups took as their “call to action.” Following these tweets by Trump, Nationalist groups like Qanon, and other hate groups openly planned their actions to force Congress to change the electoral college vote in favor of Trump while being held at “gunpoint”. D.C. police failed to act on credible intelligence and enabled the coup attempt to go forward. A noose and a cross were also erected outside of the Capitol building, highlighting the dark history of the U.S. South, and the white nationalist alliance with the Klu Klux Klan.
In a report from Politico, members of the D.C. police and the military were directly linked to what now can be called an attempted Coup d’etat.
Major newspaper outlets in Missouri have called for the immediate resignation of Josh Hawley, one of the eight senators who supported and voted in favor of objecting to the election.
According to memos from the Pentagon a couple weeks ago, after Trump installed new loyalist leaders there, the Washington D.C. National Guard had a stock of “less than lethal weapons”, usually used for protests, held back in the days leading up to January 6th, forcing their response to be purposefully diminished.
Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnel’s wife, and Secretary of Transportation has resigned along with Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, following the “deeply troubling” events that unfolded yesterday.
Ilhan Omar a Congresswoman from Minnesota is likely going to bring articles of impeachment to the house floor tomorrow, as a condemnation of the Presidents actions on January, 6th.
January, 8th, 2021 2:00 pm PST:
Cori Bush, a Congresswoman from Missouri, has called on the expulsion of Republican lawmakers, house members, and senators who supported the efforts to subvert the will of the American people, and in doing so have violated section III of the 14th amendment. Which states that if they violate “their sacred oath of office” by “insurrection or rebellion” they are subject to expulsion from their position of power. Similar to impeachment, two-thirds of each the house and senate are required to pass such measures, this is unlikely as many are still loyal to Trump, leaving a permanent stain on the future of the Republican party.
House Democrats, according to multiple sources, will now bring impeachment proceedings to the floor on Monday, nine days before Trump is set to peacefully transition to a Biden administration.
Monday January 11th, 2021 9:30 am PST:
Multiple reports indicate that another attack on the Capitol and State Houses across the country could happen on January 17th or 20th, though there are conflicting reports regarding the date. With last weeks coup attempt nothing from alt-right extremists can be taken lightly. There is also concern that the upcoming attacks could be aided by law enforcement, and military who are involved with white nationalist extremist groups, which could make the attacks more damaging. I wrote about the role of law enforcement and the Military in more detail in an article about the rise of the Alt-right back in November, which can be found here.
Multiple people from the Republican party have left in the wake of the violence. They are unlikely to change their conservative views, but nevertheless is a rebuke of the Trumpism the party has stood for the last five years. This is an opportunity for a major third or fourth party to root itself in American politics, a much needed break from the two-party system.
Facebook recommended 64% of extremist accounts to users, which exponentially grew fringe conspiracies and Qanon, before taking any actions to prevent their growth. By that point Qanon had spread to reddit, 4chan, 8chan and other dark web-sites amplifying their reach. The pandemic helped expand their base with people who questioned the origins of the virus, the infringment of their rights around mask use, and government mandates, and in the process of this turned pro-Trump, anti-semitic, racist, anti-public health measures and believers of countless conspiracy theories. Throughout the last four years his power over social media platforms was used to encourage and stay close to his supporters. When he lost the election his followers, who had already lost trust in government, and the electoral system, easily believed the thousands of anti-voter conspiracies, and totally bogus voter fraud claims. After Trump’s recent concession to Biden on YouTube, many on social media platforms like Parler, another conspiracy website and app, they claimed it wasn’t actually Trump, but an actor, and that “Trump was a deepfake” and was forced to concede.
The alt-right will continue to grow and communicate through larger underground and fringe platforms, that will be harder to shut down, as they work to spread hate, lies and anti-government views, in order to subvert the bans on major social media sites.
Two articles of Impeachment have been introduced against the president, which will likely pass the house within the next few days, but won’t move into a senate hearing, trial or indictment until after Biden’s first 100 days in office. (I guess the Onion was partly right.) Below are the articles of impeachment from house Democrats.
“1) Abuse of power for attempting to overturn the election results in Georgia.”
Unrelated to the violent attack on the Capitol, Trump in a call to Georgia's Secretary of State on January 2nd, he vaguely asked him to “find votes”. In December, Trump also asked a Georgia elections official to “find the fraud” in a direct implication and violation of 52 U.S. code § 20511, where it states ““the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent.””
“2) Incitement of violence for orchestrating an attempted coup against our country.”
Deeply entrenched in the last four years, Trump’s ongoing incitement of violence is dangerous, and will forever impact our ailing democracy. The phrasing in his speech prior to the insurrection attempt is what Democrats are focusing on, as they rightfully claim he incited the riot, by saying “we will never concede,” and “we will stop the steal”. Though those words will likely not find him guilty, we know the last five years greatly contributed to the lies, and the cult-like following which put many into the mindset of; “we will do anything for our god and savior.”
A congresswoman from Colorado was supposedly live-tweeting Nancy Pelosi’s location to insurrectionists, and there have been multiple calls for her arrest or expulsion from her congressional seat for “aiding and abetting” the domestic terrorists, a direct violation of the previously mentioned section III of the 14th amendment.
Multiple Republican dark money organizations funded the coup attempt. One in particular made robocalls to hundreds of thousands, asking them to come to D.C. to Stop the Steal and make their voices heard, a clear indication of what was to come. Another group, Women for America, was one of the main organizers of the rally and march, a dark money nonprofit who fails to disclose their donors.
Tuesday, January 12th, 2021 7:00 pm PST:
In the wake of the coup attempt, many have questioned the future of the U.S. and how the country who claims they “are better than this”, could have had such a thing happen. Clearly we are not being honest with ourselves. The truth is that in the last four hundred years white supremacy has ingrained itself in the troubled history of this nation, and under Donald Trump’s presidency white nationalism has been growing, becoming more outwardly expressed, and festering in all levels of society and government. One of the ways to move away from white supremacy and alt-right extremism as a country, is through developing a comprehensive plan of racial justice through education, the abolishment of the police, widespread bans on guns, a complete overhaul of our racist capitalist system, and reparations to ancestors of enslaved people and to indigenous people.
In response to the siege on the Capitol many concerns have arisen about the worsening of the police and surveillance state to quell future outbreaks of violence. In the coming days small bills will likely be introduced to the House of Representatives under the blanket of the current chaos that allow for harsher punishment for those found to be in attendance at “violent riots or protests”. Some believe it will make it easier for police and far-right extremists, who are not held accountable for their actions, to instigate violence at social justice marches or protests, while increasing arrests of genuine peaceful protestors. This feels like a tactic to increase punishment for people of color, who are already imprisoned at higher, disproportionate rates.
This idea of mismanagement by intelligence agencies and police was also highlighted by the utter inaction around an insurrection planned in plain sight, while massive surveillance practices were used to closely monitor BLM protests last summer, showing these agencies extremely prejudiced practices against people of color and movements to bring justice to those who have been murdered by law enforcement.
Top military leaders, in a rare act of defiance against a sitting president, condemned the insurrection and coup attempt, and also reminded military members to be loyal to the constitution and avoid extremism. Although multiple military members and veterans have been found to have been involved in last week's siege and are being investigated for their roles in the attacks.
Mitch McConnell in a surprise move, along with a number of other republican senators, has condemned Trump’s actions and called them impeachable offenses. This may signal cooperation between both branches of congress and a successful rejection of Trump. If he is impeached he could be charged under the federal law for “seditious conspiracy”. This would bar Trump from political office and any association with the Republican party in the future, which appears to be the current goal of McConnell, because of Trump’s undeniable stain on the future of the party.
Wednesday, January 13th, 2021 7:00 pm PST
In a historic first, Trump has been impeached twice in one presidential term. The vote was also historic first, being the most bipartisan in history, as ten Republicans sided with Democrats in the final tally. Though there should have been more Republicans who sided with the Democrats, but many still kept their allegiance to their insurrectionist president.
The next step would be to convene a trial at the senate, but at the moment it is unclear how a trial will occur with the incoming Biden Administration. There have been bipartisan talks to split half a day confirming Biden cabinet picks, while using the other half to execute an impeachment trial against Donald Trump. The picture is still unclear on how it will play out, whether it will be an acquittal, or conviction, which is completely dependent on how many Republicans vote with Democrats. A separate vote will be required to bar Trump from future office, though this will only have to be a simple majority, not a two-thirds majority.
This will be the final update.
The impeachment trial will be covered in a separate article and in a couple of weeks or whenever the trial takes place, I'll post the link at the end of this article.
If you all enjoy these types of articles let me know in the comments below and if so I will continue to cover a range of topics in a similar format.
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Written by writer Seamus Bozeman
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